With one year to go until the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) becomes law, The Direct Marketing Association has some alarming research on preparedness. According to The Drum, half of companies surveyed believe they will be ready in time, but a quarter revealed they have yet to put together a GDPR plan.

The "one year to go until GDPR becomes law" message was highlighted yesterday by the UK's Information Commissioner, Elizabeth Denham. She warned businesses that they open themselves to massive fines if they are not compliant but also suggested it's not all "stick" and there is a "carrot" of business benefits that can be achieved by putting customer privacy first.

Marketing Professionals has a quick guide to what AI can achieve in email -- which comes with a warning that it cannot instantly transform your campaigns but over time, can help get the right message to the right people at the right time. But don't expect overnight miracles.

Top tips for better email marketing, revealed by Marketing Land, include being more human in your communications, using high-quality images, writing succinct headlines, always focussing on the benefits and using colour wisely.

Vator has some strong advice for anyone considering buying an email list -- don't do it! The site claims experience shows that not only are you right in thinking you may be spamming people, but ISPs may block your messages, frustrating your efforts.

"Campaign" is warning marketers that, according to DMA research, only around one in two companies are on course to be GDPR compliant in time for the introduction of new privacy rules on May 26th, 2018.

An email prankster who embarrassed the Chief Executive of Barclays by posing as a colleague has done it again. This time the Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, has been tricked into a lighthearted exchange with the prankster who was posing as a colleague. The "Times" reveals that the lighthearted exchange saw Carney promise to buy a pair of Martinis.

Barclays has announced it is tightening email security after a prankster managed to enter into an email conversation with its Chief Executive by pretending to be the bank's Chairman, "The Telegraph" reports.

Which is better for a b2c marketing department, social media or email? That's the question posed by Marketing Land and -- spoiler alert -- it ends up that, of course, email is the channel to rely on.

Although Vine has been dumped, some email IDs used to set up accounts may have been compromised, CNet warns. Twitter has sent out email warnings that some hackers may have used a vulnerability to deal credentials.